Home Town

'Home Town' Homeowner Profile: Bill and Jody Holloway

Ben and Erin Napier take on an extra challenge when they agree to renovate a historic home for architectural designer Bill Holloway and his wife Jody. Bill spent his youth in Laurel, but has been living and working in New York. Now he's ready to return home.

Erin and Ben with Bill and Jody Holloway (R) on the front porch of the newly renovated home

Erin and Ben with Bill and Jody Holloway (R) on the front porch of the newly renovated home

Home Town host Erin Napier likes to get a little background and personal history on her clients before renovation work begins — to help get a feel for the kind of design, features and aesthetic choices that might work best in their home. Here are a few insights provided by client Bill Holloway featured in the episode titled "History in the Making".

Erin: Tell us brie­y about your family history, where you came from and what your family is like.

Bill:I grew up on a farm in Soso, Mississippi. My grandparents had a general store in Soso called H&H Grocery. No one in my family "lived in town," everyone lived and still lives out in the county. I have one brother that's a welder who is married with three kids. I took piano lessons "in town" on 5th Avenue in Laurel for 10 years and playing the piano became something I’ve loved doing ever since. Over time visiting town every week I was inspired by the beautiful homes in Laurel. Ever since then, it’s been a dream of mine to live in one of the beautiful old houses in Laurel's Historic District.

Erin: Is there an object in your current home that you love that you think may be weird, ugly or unusual? For instance, I have a porcelain Elvis bust on a bookcase in my living room!

Bill: I have an old vegetable basket that belonged to my great grandfather that I use to put rolled up house plans in. I also have a small antique fishing hook making frame that I picked up in Nova Scotia, Canada that I use as sculptural art. I also have a nice collection of vintage Mississippi and New York post cards.

Erin: How would you describe your home and personal style?

Bill:I like pieces that have a classic old school re‑ned southern elegance grouped with pieces that are primitive. Basically, my personal style is a combination of Garden & Gun magazine, a Billy Reid clothing store, a Bobby McAlpine home interior, an abandoned sharecropper house and a home in the Hamptons. Lately I have been drawn to English antiques. Jody and I do not like the rustic look or anything with sayings on it. We want our home to reflect us. We want people to feel welcome and at home when they enter our home. I want the home to look elegant, classic and timeless with a modern twist.

Ben and Erin may have bitten off more than they can chew when they take on a project for a client who wants to move and then renovate her great-grandmother's 1930s home. Sometimes it’s good to have a ‘Plan B’.

Laurel, Mississippi — the famously small-town setting for HGTV's hit series Home Town — has a population of only about 18,000, so practically no new citizen is likely to go unnoticed. But one new resident in particular is certain to grab the attention of folks well beyond the town's city limits.